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From earrings that are too heavy to jewelry that makes your skin itch, here are some ways your stylish accessories can hurt you.
Unhealthy Fashion Habits
Jewelry and other fashion accessories can transform an outfit from blah to wow! — but some of those glamorous extras might leave you with itchy skin or infections, too. Read on to find out how accessories can be more hurtful than haute.
Jewelry Metals: Allergic Reactions
Jewelry — most notably rings and earrings — can cause a rash known as contact dermatitis in people who are sensitive to compounds in certain metals. The biggest culprit is nickel, followed by gold, says Neeta Ogden, MD, an adult and pediatric allergist in private practice in New York City. “With any jewelry it’s the metal that can be an issue. The other thing with jewelry is color,” says Dr. Ogden, who has seen cobalt finishing on jewelry irritate some patients, for example.
What should you do if a favorite earring is giving you a rash? “You really have to give up the earring,” says Ogden. “It will just become a chronic rash.”
NickelJewelry Metals: Allergic Reactions
Jewelry Metals allergic reaction
Jewelry — most notably rings and earrings — can cause a rash known as contact dermatitis in people who are sensitive to compounds in certain metals. The biggest culprit is nickel, followed by gold, says Neeta Ogden, MD, an adult and pediatric allergist in private practice in New York City. “With any jewelry it’s the metal that can be an issue. The other thing with jewelry is color,” says Dr. Ogden, who has seen cobalt finishing on jewelry irritate some patients, for example.
What should you do if a favorite earring is giving you a rash? “You really have to give up the earring,” says Ogden. “It will just become a chronic rash.”
Nickel is also found in other fashion items, such as metal fasteners like zippers, buckles, and buttons. But Ogden says these items shouldn’t present as big an issue for a person sensitive to nickel, since they don’t often rest directly on the skin.
is also found in other fashion items, such as metal fasteners like zippers, buckles, and buttons. But Ogden says these items shouldn’t present as big an issue for a person sensitive to nickel, since they don’t often rest directly on the skin.
Heavy Earrings: Earlobe Damage
Earrings that weigh down your earlobes are rarely the most comfortable choice. In fact, the strain on sensitive earlobes can lead to a pretty painful evening. And if worn too often, heavy earrings can permanently stretch the piercing hole — something more and more people are having plastic surgery to fix, says Edward Farrior, MD, FACS, a facial plastic surgeon in Tampa, Fla.
“Over time obviously it’s extra weight on the earlobe, which stretches and lengthens the earlobes and also stretches the actual hole in the ear where the earring goes,” says Dr. Farrior. The combination makes the ear look older, he says, which is why some people have the earlobe-hole reduction procedure. Earlobe-hole reduction is also more common today because of the gauge earring trend, he says. “Some people don’t realize when they stretch their ear out so much that that hole is not going to close, unlike when you have your ear pierced normally and it closes right away if you take it out because the hole is so small.”
Wearing heavy earrings can also put women at higher risk for an earlobe tear, says Farrior, “especially big hoop earrings or real complex earrings that hang. They just get caught on clothing.” His recommendation: “If you pick up an earring and you feel it has mass to it, then it shouldn’t be hanging from your ear.”
Tight Rings: Poor Circulation
In addition to being a pain to remove if they get stuck, rings that are too tight can cause discomfort and numbness in the ring finger due to lack of blood circulation to the digit. Regularly take off your rings to let your fingers breathe and to gauge how tight a ring feels on your finger. If you notice it getting tighter, have the ring size adjusted before it gets to the point where you can no longer remove it. See a doctor if you notice discoloration of your ring finger, which may mean the ring is blocking circulation from the finger to the rest of your hand.
Has a ring turned your finger green? It could be your skin’s reaction to a component in the metal, which is more likely to occur with less-expensive jewelry. But it usually doesn’t have anything to do with an allergy, says Ogden.
Ear and Body Piercings: Irritation and Infections
Ear piercings can cause infection if they’re not done under sterile circumstances, Farrior says, and such infections typically present looking like an abscess. But the biggest concern (especially in people doing multiple piercings in ear) is if you pierce the cartilage, he says.
“The cartilage is a nice tissue to grow bacteria and it has poor blood supply to fight infection, so when you pierce the ear cartilage it’s more likely to create a significant problem,” says Farrior. An infection in the ear cartilage can be much more destructive, potentially causing cauliflower ear like you see in boxers or perichondritis in which the ear cartilage melts away. Yikes!
Considering piercing your nose, lips, tongue, belly button, or other body parts? It’s safer to steer clear of costume-type jewelry that might have nickel in it, says Ogden, to avoid allergic reactions.
To keep a body piercing from becoming infected, experts suggests picking a piece of jewelry that is easy to clean — and if it’s an oral piercing, easy to remove.
Contact Lenses: Eye Damage
Non-prescription contact lenses, popular in costume stores during Halloween season, pose health risks for people who use them — especially because users often don’t know how to properly wear and care for contact lenses, but also because you don’t know if they’re made of safe materials.
When using standard contacts for vision needs, it’s important to wear and clean them the right way. You shouldn’t leave in your contacts in the shower, for example. In a survey of contact-lens wearers, published in the journal Optometry and Vision Science, researchers found only 2 percent of respondents followed all the lens safety rules. If you wear contact lenses, see a doctor if you experience eye pain, redness, or discomfort – which could be signs of infection.
Tight Headbands, Headgear, or Hair Elastics: Compression Headaches
If you have a headache and it’s not the result of skipping your morning coffee or staring at a computer screen all day, consider what you’re wearing on your head. Too tight headbands — along with head-hugging hats, helmets, or goggles — can lead to external compression headaches. Pulling hair back in a tight ponytail can strain the scalp, also causing a headache. The solution: Take off the headband or other gear, or adjust it so it’s not so tight.
Shoes and Bags: Back, Neck, and Shoulder Pain
Shoes and bags are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to fashion accessories that wreak pain. Too-heavy bags, especially when carried incorrectly, lead to head, neck, and shoulder pain, while foot pain can often be traced to ill-fitting or otherwise uncomfortable shoes.
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